Great Scott!

In the midst of the most prolonged slump of his five-year Major League career, Luke Scott admits he has had many sleepless nights wondering what he’s doing wrong. Following a 4-for-8 series against Seattle, in which he hit a solo homer Wednesday night and a decisive grand slam Thursday afternoon, I asked Scott how he’s feeling now.

“I’ve been feeling better,” Scott said following the Orioles’ 6-5 win. “Last night I had a nice, although it was short, I had good sleep.”

“Moments like this, it kind of makes you feel like you can breathe again.”

I asked a few of the other Orioles what it was like when Scott hit that grand slam. Starter Kevin Millwood was inside icing, but still heard the place erupt in cheers.

So did the rest of the O’s as Corey Patterson admitted he was on his feet watching in nervous anticipation to see if Scott’s ball would avoid left fielder Michael Saunders’ glove.

“[I] saw Saunders going back and I didn’t know because it was on the edge [of the wall] and once it went into his glove and went out, we all went crazy with high fives,” Patterson said.

“We were all excited. That was a great at-bat by him. We were all really, really happy. “

“It’s just big,” Matt Wieters said of Scott’s blast. “Especially from him, if we can get him going it would really help this team. To get a big hit and be able to come from behind and win a game is big for the confidence going forward.”

“Everyone was pumped up,” Scott said of the mood upon his return to the dugout. “It was exciting, guys were pumped up. They were cheering, a lot of energy, a lot of emotion.”

“He’s a tough guy,” manager Dave Trembley said of Scott. “He prepares himself like no other in the off-season. He loves to hit.”

The ball narrowly made it as a homer, with the cold, heavy air halting what would have normally been an easy outside-the-parker.

“To tell you the truth, I thought I had it,” Saunders said. “Guys were telling me that when I hit the wall I kind of didn’t have an idea why I didn’t’ catch the ball. A fan with a glove hit my glove away and beat me to the baseball. I had a bead on it, but when I jumped up and hit the wall, I came down empty handed. I at least thought I would be able to touch it. I don’t think I did. I think the fan beat me to it.”

The play wasn’t reviewed, although for a second Scott wasn’t sure what happened because Ty Wigginton stopped around second base.

“Coming up on both of them I saw [Adam Jones] coming back and I had my fist up and was like ‘Yeahhhh.’ And then I was like, ‘Whoa dude, is my mind playing tricks on me or something?” Scott said when he saw the runners stop. “But nope, I just hope it’s real.”

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